While you may think of New Orleans as a party town, the locals would say otherwise. They love their beautiful town and are very proud of it. There’s so much to do and see there, and traveling on a paddlewheeler helps deepen the southern experience.
American Cruise Lines’ Queen of Mississippi has an eight-day river cruise that starts and ends in New Orleans. Visit battlefields, mansions, and plantations—and even pick some cotton. Learn all about the antebellum life as well as the slavery that supported it.
New Orleans Roundtrip Mississippi River cruises are offered in the winter months with some scattered cruises in the early and late summer. The spring and fall are the best times to travel to New Orleans along the Lower Mississippi River. In 2014, you can sail May 31, August 23, October 18, and December 6, 13, 20 or 27. In 2015, sail Feb 21 & 28, March 7, 14, 21 & 28, May 30, October 31, and December 5, 12, 19 or 26.
Map courtesy of American Cruise Lines
When you arrive in New Orleans, LA you’ll notice all its many ethnic influences from the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. You’ll see it in the culture, the food, especially the Cajun and most famous for its jazz music. All this can be seen, tasted and heard throughout the Jackson Square, Garden District, French Market and French Quarter on the New Orleans City Tour. Be sure to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art, a collection of French, American, African and Japanese works and the Besthoff Sculpture Gardens.
Photo courtesy of New Orleans City Park Archives
Oak Alley, LA is home of the “Grande Dame of the Great River Road,” or the Oak Alley Plantation. The restored antebellum mansion is a tribute to the wealthy landowners in the region. On this plantation is a garage full of antique cars, a blacksmith shop and you can stroll down the Alley of the Oaks which is a quarter-mile avenue of giant oak trees that create a tunnel of branches and leaves.
Photo courtesy of Oak Alley Plantation
Natchez, Mississippi has over 1,000 historic structures in this 300-year-old preserved historical city. Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gin, a must-see, is an 1800-acre working cotton farm, with a rare steam cotton gin and the history of computerization of cotton ginning.
Photo courtesy of Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gin
A visit to the south wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a Civil War battlefield site in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Vicksburg National Military Park has preserved the historical site and include re-enactments of the battle.
Photo courtesy of the National Park Service at Vicksburg National Military Park
On the bluffs of the Mississippi River is a beautiful small town called St. Francisville, LA. The Myrtles Plantation exhibits the antebellum life and you are invited to relax on the giant rockers on the balcony overlooking the plantation.
Photo courtesy of The Myrtles Plantation
Also, visit the Rosedown Plantation to see how the wealthiest planters lived.
Image courtesy of Louisiana State Parks/DCRT
You’ll find the best Louisiana Cajun cuisine in Baton Rouge. Be sure to visit the LSU Rural Life Museum. Take a peek into the lives of early settlers as you tour the plantation and see the kitchen, slave cabins and a grist mill.
Photo courtesy of Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum
Welcome to Houmas House, Louisiana a truly hospitable southern town. Your friends at the Houmas House Plantation, aka The Sugar Palace, want you to feel as if you’ve come by to visit friends. Spend the day as their guest and walk around the 38-acres to see the gardens, ponds and oak alley. After a day of exploring, you can relax over dinner and enjoy the Victory Belles trio for a traditional southern night of entertainment.
When you arrive back in New Orleans be sure to visit the Presbytere Louisiana State Museum to see the new Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit. Local artist Mitchell Gaudet created a tribute for the foyer made of 1,600 bottles with messages inside for each of the victims. The blue hands represent the first-responders reaching for those who died in the flooding.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Sindler/Louisiana State Museum
There’s a great view of the Crescent city Connection Bridge from the terrace on the fifth floor at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
Photo courtesy of Ogden Museum of Southern Art
And a trip to New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without trying the locals favorite Parkway Bakery & Tavern’s crusty Po-Boys hero sandwich piled with fried gulf oysters, shrimp or catfish.
Photo courtesy of Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Want more information?
Call a CruiseExperts.com agent now to book your stateroom on an America Cruise Lines river cruise. We are here to answer any questions you may have about taking a cruise on a paddle wheeler. Call us at 1-888-804-CRUISE (2784) or visit our website, www.CruiseExperts.com. We can also help you with traditional ocean cruises or more exotic European river cruises. Just give us a call!
You may be interested in our other blog about other Mississippi river cruises
See the historical South on a paddlewheeler boat on a Mississippi River cruise
From St. Louis to St. Paul—take a Mississippi River cruise through history on a paddlewheeler boat
Cruise the Mississippi and Cumberland Rivers through America’s Heartland
Experience and explore history while cruising the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers
Cruise the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers between St. Louis and Memphis for a taste of Americana
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2 Comments
Would like more info on New Orleans to New Orleans riverboat cruise for Feb. 2015. Pricing and what excursions are included along the way.
Awesome Betty! The US paddlewheel river cruises are becoming more popular! Jeremy or Rachel will be contacting you to find out more about what you’re looking for. We would love to help you take an unforgettable cruise on the mighty Mississippi!